The use of protective coatings on metal substrates for improved corrosion resistance and paint adhesion is common. Conventional techniques for coating such substrates include techniques that involve pretreating the metal substrate with a phosphate conversion coating and chrome-containing rinses. Such techniques often involve multiple time- and space-consuming treatment steps. The use of such phosphate and/or chromate-containing compositions, moreover, imparts environmental and health concerns.
As a result, chromate-free and/or phosphate-free pretreatment compositions have been developed. Such compositions are generally based on chemical mixtures that in some way react with the substrate surface and bind to it to form a protective layer. For example, pretreatment compositions based on a group IIIB or IVB metal compound have recently become more prevalent. In some cases, it has been proposed to include copper in such compositions to improve the corrosion resisting properties of the composition. The corrosion resistance capability of these pretreatment compositions, however, even when copper is included, has generally been significantly inferior to conventional phosphate and/or chromium containing pretreatments. Moreover, the inclusion of copper in such compositions can result in the discoloration of some subsequently applied coatings, such as certain electrodeposited coatings, particularly non-black coatings. In addition, inclusion of copper in the pretreatment composition can make it more difficult to maintain the proper composition of materials in the pretreatment bath, as copper tends to deposit onto the metal surface at a rate different from the other metals in the composition.
As a result, it would be desirable to provide methods for treating a metal substrate that overcome at least some of the previously described drawbacks of the prior art, including the environmental drawbacks associated with the use of chromates and/or phosphates. Moreover, it would be desirable to provide methods for treating metal substrate that, in at least some cases, imparts corrosion resistance properties that are equivalent to, or even superior to, the corrosion resistance properties impart through the use of phosphate conversion coatings. It would also be desirable to provide related coated metal substrates.